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A 30 April - 1 May 1960 Düsseldorf congress of neurologists warned of the dangers of thalidomide.
The regulators who had allowed thalidomide in the first place did nothing.
Thalidomide was eventually taken from the market on 27 November 1961, by its maker, Chemie Grünenthal GmbH, and thus not by the regulators who had allowed it in the first place.
http://www.wdr.de/themen/gesundheit/pharmazie/contergan/chronik.jhtml?rubrikenstyle=contergan
Thalidomide thus continued to be given to pregnant women after 1 May 1960.
So yes, thalidomide was tested before given to pregnant women (after 1 May 1960).
And I did not yet examine the question whether thalidomide had been tested before being marketed.
Thalidomide was definitely known in the year 1938 and [its] defects were noted in Phoenix, AZ (USA) in a medical journal that year. It was known as a cure for [Hansen]'s Disease and made by [Richardson]-Merrill Co. in [Cincinnati], OH (USA). I don't know what action was taken, but a young female doctor named Frances Oldham Kersey (or Kelsey) recognized its dangers. Theodore, Princeton, WV/USA
(reaction under From The Times April 4, 2008 Thalidomide: 50 years on victims unite to seek more compensation Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article3671815.ece
Kelsey was the lady who in 1960 only joined the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Once there, she further delayed thalidomide's approval (thalidomide was marketed since 1957) and was given a Presidential award by USA president Kennedy for that delay.
Wikipedia says
that Kelsey is credited SINCE NINETEEN THIRTY-EIGHT with her interest in teratogens - that is, drugs that cause congenital malformations,
that 1938 was the date of the creation of the FDA,
and that Kelsey managed to be appointed there in 1960
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Oldham_Kelsey
Thalidomide was marketed since 1957.
Kelsey was only appointed in the FDA in 1960.
How can she get (all) the credit for having 'saved' the USA from it?
http://bphouse.com/honest_money/human-testing/
Grünenthal apparently purchased the trade name of the drug - Contergan - and therefore probably the substance itself, from a French firm, Rhône-Poulenc, which was under Nazi control during the war years.
(From The Sunday Times
February 8, 2009
Thalidomide 'was created by the Nazis'
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683577.ece
Documents have emerged which suggest that scientists led by a British professor had discovered a compound with an almost identical chemical formula to thalidomide in 1949.
(From The Sunday Times
September 13, 2009
Thalidomide victim Gary Skyner to go on hunger strike
Daniel Foggo
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article6832320.ece
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What side effects are there for thalidomide?
Thalidomide was originally given to pregnant women who suffered from morning sickness, it is not also used to treat leprosy. Although it often cured women's morning sickness, it actually causes severe limb dis-configurements in newborn children.
Why was drug testing procedure for thalidomide inappropriate?
Because it failed to test the drug for its affects on developing embryos, even though it was targeted to be given to pregnant mothers to prevent morning sickness.
How can a baby have short limbs?
The most common reason is achondroplasia (dwarfism). Half a century ago now, the drug thalidomide, given to pregnant women, caused shortened limbs. Other causes exist, as well.
What happens to females eggs if they drink alcohol?
if the woman in question is pregnant the fetus gets some alcohol in its diet (bad word choice) so when the baby is born it is an alcoholic the same applies to all other drugs (which is why some medicines aren't given to pregnant women - the infamous example of this is thalidomide)
Why was thalidomide given to pregnant woman?
The damaging drug may have been developed as an antidote to nerve gas (Thalidomide 'was created by the Nazis' From The Sunday Times February 8, 2009 http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683577.ece
Why are the new medicines tested?
new medicines are tested to ensure that they work on the right aspect of what they are made for and to see if any side-effects can be harmful or worse, fatal, to human beings.
Can provera abort a 2mos pregnant?
Depo-Provera is not used as an abortifactant, but if given to a woman who is pregnant, it can cause miscarriage. That is why a doctor will make you take a pregnancy test before they will prescribe it to you.
How does antenatal care influences health?
Antenatal care is the basic precautions given to a pregnant woman before and after birth. It is easy to detect any abnormalities that may arise on the health of a pregnant woman. Also immunization schedule is given to the woman before and after birth to protect her and the baby against any contagious disease.
Why androgen is given to some pregnant ladies?
i want answer for this and the question is why androgens are given to some pregnant women
Can a pregnancy happen a week before the period is due?
you really can get pregnant at any given time even if your on your period its rare but can happen...
Why pregnant women tell her health care provider shes pregnant before receiving abt X ray examination?
The levels of radiation given off by the x-ray machine can be dangerous to the baby.
Why is thalidomide still available today?
THE FIRST CONTRIBUTOR ARGUED: Thalidomide has legitimate medical uses. For example, it can be used to treat [Hansen]'s disease (used to be called leprosy) and multiple myeloma. The risk vs reward ratio for all drugs must be carefully evaluated. The risk for pregnant women taking thalidomide for morning sickness clearly outweighs any possible benefit that the woman might receive through the mitigation of her morning sickness. So those women taking thalidomide for other treatment must take every precaution against becoming pregnant. But this is no different than other drugs that are demonstrated teratogens, such as Acutane, which is prescribed for the control of serious acne THIS CONTRIBUTOR CALLS HIMSELF THE SECOND CONTRIBUTOR AND REPLIES: Every mother knows that her child should not play with a toy the child does not understand. The mechanism of the biological action of thalidomide is still being debated. Human nature is constituted as such that some individuals who have inside knowledge about the effects of thalidomide will 'always' deliberately and unnoticeably cause the serious harm thalidomide can 'so easily' cause. They do that precisely because the damage is so serious to the mother and to the child and because they can do that so easily and without being noticed. It may be that 'in clinical trials', thalidomide is shown to be effective against many things. But 'in real life', it is given to unsuspecting girls. TWO REMAINING PUZZLES (for the second contributor): ONE Thalidomide is a cure against Hansen's disease, leprosy. The second contributor is no medical doctor, but his understanding of leprosy is that it "takes" limbs "away". (1) The effect of thalidomide on foetuses is thus similar to the symptoms of leprosy on human beings. Still, thalidomide is cure of/against leprosy. Since Aristotle, the principle of non-contradiction (the PNC) says that it is impossible to be and not to be at the same time and in the same respect. Contrary to what many authors argue, this principle, or law, is not applicable to reality, only to thought. (2) Thought is submitted to the PNC. Reality is not. How can the thought of the advocates of the use of thalidomide get away with the apparent contradiction that thalidomide is both the cause of and the cure of leprosy(-like symptoms)? Is it being argued that using thalidomide on pregnant women and using it on non-pregnant people suffering of leprosy is using it in a different respect? Multiple myeloma, say the ophthalmologists? TWO Thalidomide attacked the embryo, not the infant. It attacked the sensory, not the motor "nerves". (3) It thus did not act on the limb bud. Indeed, thalidomide caused upper limb deformities by action before the limb had existed. (4) The damaging drug may have been developed by the Nazis as an antidote to "nerve" gas. (5) Again, the second contributor is no medical doctor, but he's surprised by the double occurrence of the same noun "nerve". THE ULTIMATE PUZZLE: Why is thalidomide still available today? NOTES (1) Left untreated, leprosy can be progressive, causing permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. Leprosy does not directly cause body parts to fall off on their own accord; instead they become disfigured or autoamputated as a result of disease symptoms. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy (2) Fernand Van Steenberghen, (F.-X. de Guibert, ed.), Philosophie fondamentale , Longueuil, Québec, Editions du Préambule, 1989, footnote p. 296: Contrairement à ce qu'affirment beaucoup d'auteurs, ces principes [the principle of non-contradiction, the law of the excluded-middle and the law of identity] sont des Lois logiques ou des Lois de pensée comme telle et non des Lois de l'ordre réel. (3) Janet McCredie, "Beyond Thalidomide - Birth Defects Explained", London, The Royal Society of Medicine Press, 2007, p. 405 (4) McCredie, p. 152 (5) From The Sunday Times February 8, 2009 Thalidomide 'was created by the Nazis' The damaging drug may have been developed as an antidote to nerve gas Daniel Foggo http://www.timesonline.co.UK/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683577.ece
